SUZZANNA – THE QUEEN OF BLACK MAGIC

 Mohon maaf, sekadar berbagi kabar gembira: 

SUZZANNA – THE QUEEN OF BLACK MAGIC 

Alhamdulillah, film dokumenter  “SUZZANNA – THE QUEEN OF BLACK MAGIC” (David Gregory, 2024, Severin Films),  yang saya turut produseri, sudah selesai produksinya!

She starred in 42 classic movies, was hailed as ‘The Queen of Indonesian Horror’ and crowned ‘Asia’s Most Popular Actress’. But who was Suzzanna Martha Frederika van Osch, long-beloved by the Asian world as Suzzanna yet virtually unknown outside it? In this fascinating new documentary by David Gregory, whose previous explorations of transgressive cinema include LOST SOUL: THE DOOMED JOURNEY OF RICHARD STANLEY’S ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU, BLOOD & FLESH: THE REEL LIFE & GHASTLY DEATH OF AL ADAMSON and ENTER THE CLONES OF BRUCE, discover the enigmatic horror star best known for portraying vengeful spirits from Indonesian folklore, demons whose supernatural retribution are widely believed to have influenced her controversial life and mysterious death. Through exclusive interviews with family, colleagues, filmmakers, and historians, as well as clips from her classic films including SUNDEL BOLONG (1981), NYI BLORONG (1982), MALAM SATU SURO (1988) and more, Gregory unearths the legacy of the Indonesian Scream Queen who has begun to emerge as one of the most compelling icons in cinema history.

“When we talk about the world of horror movies, we think of Boris Karloff, Vincent Price, Bela Lugosi. But there is another that I think surpasses every one of them. And her name is Suzzanna.”

Joko Anwar, Award-Winning Writer/Director of THE FORBIDDEN DOOR, SATAN’S SLAVES and JOKO ANWAR’S NIGHTMARES AND DAYDREAMS

“In Indonesia, Suzzanna is horror and horror is Suzzanna. It’s about time she's globally known, and this is the documentary she deserves.”  

Ekky Imanjaya, Co-Producer

“Suzzanna was a beloved horror actress in Southeast Asia whom I’d only been aware of peripherally. But the more research I did into her life and career, the more I realized that she was a superstar unlike any the genre has known before or since. My goal was to go beyond the Indonesian headlines and find the truth behind her massive popularity and mysterious death. Ultimately, this is the story of a Scream Queen who has begun to emerge as one of the most fascinating icons in cinema history.”

David Gregory, Producer/Director

Coming Soon!

Tunggu Tanggal Mainnya!

"Pembunuh Meniru Film Horor (?)"

Apakah sebuah karya fiksi bisa mempengaruhi seseorang untuk melakukan kriminal seperti pembunuhan atau pemerkosaan?

Tentu saja saya sangat prihatin dan bersedih dengan adanya kasus pembunuhan seorang bocah 6 tahun yang dilakukan oleh seorang gadis yang mengaku terinspirasi dari film "Chucky" dan "Slender Man".

Tapi saya tidak lantas menelan mentah-mentah bahwa film sepenuhnya bisa mempengaruhi tindakan.

Saya termasuk yang sependapat dengan Asrul Sani. Seperti yang saya pernah kutip dalam tulisan yang tautannya saya sertakan di bawah ini, Asrul dalam “Film dan Sensor Ditindjau dari sudut Kreasi”, di majalah Aneka No. 25/VIII/1957 menyatakan bahwa ia menolak mitos bahwa film berbahaya dan menjadi salah satu sumber kejahatan. Ia mensitasi hasil penelitian dari Departmental Committee on Children and the Cinema, Inggris, yang mengkaji hubungan menonton film dan tindak kejahatan. Kesimpulannya, setelah peneliti banyak anak-anak di bawah 16 tahun, film tidak terbukti mempengaruhi mereka untuk berbuat kejahatan. Lantas, mereka meneliti 130 kriminal anak, dan kesimpulannya adalah:

” Sebab-sebab dari kedjahatan mereka itu dapat dikembalikan kepada keadaan rumah tangga jang djelek, kurangnja rasa kasih sajang orang tua mereka, dan kedjadian-kedjadian dalam hidup mereka jang menimbulkan sematjam ketakutan dalam diri mereka.”

Kedua, ia mengutip laporan tahunan dari Magistrates Association Inggris, 1948, yang menyatakan hal yang sama: tidak ada hubungan antara film dan kriminalitas anak muda. Terakhir, ia juga menjabarkan pendapat Bijdendijk (Ketua Panitia Sensor di Belanda) yang disiarkan di Utrech tahun 1956. Ia berkata: “Penjelesaian sebaik2 nja dari masaalah2 jang berhubungan dengan bioskop dan film terletak dalam pendidikan dan penerangan jang baik terhadap pemuda2, dan tidak terletak dalam tangan panitia sensor. Karena itu dalam bioskop djanganlah orang dengan penuh rasa ketakutan mentjoba mendjauhkan pemuda-pemuda kita dari hal-hal jang dalam kehidupan sehari-hari jang kedjadiannja tak bisa dielakkan.”

Bagi Asrul, yang saya amini, biang keladinya bukan pada film itu sendiri, melainkan pada pendidikan dan kehidupan berumahtangga.

Intinya adalah: film--sebagaimana musik, agama, negara, olahraga--ditafsirkan sejauh mana penafsiran orang terhadapnya. Ia bisa berubah menjadi hal yang positif, menyerukan kebaikan. ia bisa diubah menjadi virus kebencian dan kejahatan. Ia bisa menjadi alat pemersatu sekaligus alat pemecah belah. Dan peran orang tua dan guru serta lingkungan juga mempengarui perspektif seseorang terhadap film (dan musik, agama, negara, olahraga).

Saya termasuk yang setuju dengan sensor dalam bentuk klasifikasi usia yang diterapkan secara ketat dan terukur. Dan ini terkait dengan peran orang tua/guru/lingkungan dalam membentuk jiwa, akhlak, dan konsep diri seseorang. Bahwa diskusi sebelum dan setelah menonton film untuk film-film yang PG (parental guidance suggested) atau BO (bimbingan orang tua), adalah penting. Ini juga terkait dengan upaya peningkatan apresiasi dan literasi terhadap film: Bagaimana melatih anak-anak sedini mungkin untuk "melek film" dan menjadi "penonton aktif", tidak lantas melarutkan gejolak perasaannya dan mencari pembenaran dalam (dan mengkambinghitamkan) sinema.

Selama masih ada anak kecil menonton Deadpool atau ada yang marah-marah karena film Warkop Reborn (yang buat remaja) menampilkan adegan yang tidak layak ditonton balita (padahal itu bukan film anak-anak), dan/atau tidak ada diskusi yang proper kepada mereka, ya....begitulah.

Tentu saja banyak orang yang tidak sepakat dengan pemikiran saya. Tidak masalah. Beda pendapat itu lumrah. Mari kita diskusi dan mencari solusi terbaik soal ini.

Saya tutup status ini dengan mengutip formula dalam "Law and Order: Special Victim Unit" yang dulu saya rajin ikuti. Dalam banyak episode selalu ada perdebatan seputar hal ini:
- Berapa banyak orang yang menonton film porno, tapi berapa persen yang berubah menjadi pemerkosa?
- Berapa banyak orang yang menonton film horor dan pembunuhan, tapi berapa yang kemudian menjadi pembunuh?

Wallahua'lam.

Islam Untuk Semua. Media Keislaman dan Keindonesiaan yang mencerdaskan dan menyejukkan, menyajikan berita, analisis, opini, dan kajian bermutu

A Fear of Monsters Revisited: Publication Launch and Panel Discussion

A Fear of Monsters Revisited: Publication Launch and Panel Discussion

6 July 2019

1 – 3.30pm

Oldham Theatre

Singapore

Free admission with registration

On the occasion of our first ever publication launch from the State of Motion series, the Asian Film Archive is pleased to present A Fear of Monsters Revisited, a panel with regional film scholars, Bliss Cua Lim and Ekky Imanjaya, and artist Ho Rui An. Expanding on key themes from the State of Motion 2019: A Fear of Monstersexhibitions, the panel examines the monsters at the cross-sections of art and cinema as ciphers for the unarticulated complexities of history and the world we live.

From the zombie, the ghost to creatures of exploitation films, A Fear of Monsters Revisited focuses on the creatures that have embodied our existential fears and leap from our screens to both scare and entertain us. What does this appeal tell us about the societies we live? What kind of resistive cultural spaces do ‘monsters’ create? What do our beloved monsters tell us about ourselves and the histories that define us?

Speakers: Ho Rui An, Ekky Imanjaya, Bliss Cua Lim | Moderated by Kathleen Ditzig https://stateofmotion.sg/2019/programmes/

New Book: Ghost Movies in Southeast Asia and Beyond

FYI, a new interesting book:

Ghost Movies in Southeast Asia and Beyond: Narratives, Cultural Contexts, Audiences

Edited by Peter J. Bräunlein, University of Göttingen, and Andrea Lauser, University of Göttingen

including:

Maren Wilger: ‘Sundelbolong’ as a Mode of Femininity: Analysis of Popular Ghost Movies in Indonesia

Patrick Keilbart: Pencak Silat, Ghosts, and (Inner) Power: Reception of Martial Arts Movies and Television Series amongst Young Pencak Silat Practitioners in Indonesia

http://www.brill.com/products/book/ghost-movies-southeast-asia-and-beyond

CFP: Southeast Asian Gothic (edited collection)

CFP: Southeast Asian Gothic (edited collection)
Edited by Katarzyna Ancuta, Mary J. Ainslie and Andrew Hock Soon Ng

The contemporary rebranding of Gothic as a global phenomenon has led to an exploration of previously unchartered cultural territories in search of texts that are open to such interpretation. In particular, the recognition of Asia as a promising site for Gothic Studies reveals complex intra-Asian connections and cultural influences, shared heritage, philosophical and religious worldviews, beliefs, and values that foreground the need to investigate the local forms that are associated with Gothic contexts. This underscores a non-generic understanding of Gothic and the need to develop a methodology that can be applied to study a variety of texts. It also signifies the need to redefine the current boundaries of Gothic through the application of new methodologies based on Asian philosophies and viewpoints.

Yet, while such existing analysis offers a very welcome new dynamic to understanding Gothic, this is often dominated by attention to the economically prominent East Asia nations, which all too often seem to signify ‘Asia’ to a large extent in any analysis of the cultural industries.The proposed collection seeks to localize the gothic in the diverse, divided and culturally very different region of Southeast Asia, an area that is becoming increasingly significant on a global scale due to the current economic amalgamation of these nations under the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The collection aims to utilize the existing regional paradigms to promote Gothic as an alternative methodology that can be used to interrogate local works of film, literature and other cultural forms within these nations. Given that the term itself is often unknown to, or severely misunderstood, by local scholars, the collection aims to dispel the common assumption that all instances of the gothic in Southeast Asia are a foreign import and constitute an aesthetic or a set of values that are alien to these cultures. With this in mind we invite the submission of papers that address the various manifestations of the gothic in Southeast Asian culture both past and present.

Topics may include:
Local supernatural narratives: representation of ghosts, spirits, deities, supernatural beliefs and rituals
Gothic aspects of Southeast Asian horror film
The gothic in Southeast Asian cinema (not limited to the horror genre)
The gothic in Southeast Asian Literature
Tropical jungle as the gothic wilderness
Southeast Asian mega-city as the gothic metropolis
History, memory and cultural trauma: Southeast Asian gothic historiographies
Violent conflict and war: armed conflicts, terrorism, foreign military interventions
The abuse of power, inequality and exploitation: gender, sexuality, ethnicity, class, religion
Economic exploitation: poverty, migration, the mass vs. the elite
Colonial and post-colonial Gothic

Proposals of no more than 500 words should be sent to kancuta@gmail.com, Mary.Ainslie@nottingham.edu.my and ng.hock.soon@monash.edu by 30 June 2015.

The collection is planned for submission to the International Gothic book series supported by the International Gothic Association and published by the University of Manchester Press